1975 - America is Marching Down Main Street

05.12.11 - "America on Parade" premiered last June as a joyful, colorful, wonderful patriotic pageant of the music, people and heritage of America — both past and present.

From the first strains of "Yankee Doodle" to the closing bars of "God Bless America," Disney's "America on Parade" is itself destined to become a part of the Americana it celebrates: something to be seen, remembered and treasured for years to come.

Thousands of Disney guests have already watched and cheered as Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck proudly lead the three-quarter-mile-long procession through the center of each theme park.

The 50 giant-size parade units in the fun-filled musical extravaganza depict a variety of historical and memorable moments in the nation's 200-year past and highlight the contributions and achievements of the country's people. They present a stylized, whimsical and never-to-be-forgotten festival of America as only Disney can present it.

Towering above the throngs of young and old who gaze with delight and amusement are Disney's newest creations, the eight-foot-high, doll-like "People of America" — from Indians to auto drivers, Can-Can dancers to Ben Franklin, a Keystone cop to Uncle Sam — they dance their way through America's history and into the hearts and memories of those who watch one of Disney's most unique and delightful creations.

The parade, which features more than 150 people, is performed at both Disney theme parks daily and 3:00 p.m. During the summer months and some holidays there will be special evening performances of the parade followed by a red, white and blue fireworks display. As an extra attraction, each week the parade will salute one of the 50 states.

The parade's grand finale features high school and college marching bands especially invited to take part in this bicentennial salute.

From the first strains of "Yankee Doodle" to the closing bars of "God Bless America," Disney's "America on Parade" is itself destined to become a part of the Americana it celebrates: something to be seen, remembered and treasured for years to come.

From the Fall/Winter 1975-1976 edition of Vacationland magazine, published by Disneyland.

The Building of Model "G" Ford

 04.16.11 - "Mildly rugged. He looks like what he was — a football player."

"Sporty. A little more relaxed than most Presidents."

"He is a pretty-down-to-earth sort of dresser."



Disney sculptors and wardrobe designers looked even more than they listened as Gerald Rudolph Ford took the oath of office last year, becoming the 38th President of the United States.

While the rest of the world anxiously sought the political views of this first unelected American President, Disney craftsmen were critically examining President Ford's physical appearance and his manner of dressing, for soon he would be the 37th "guest of honor" in Walt Disney World's The Hall of Presidents' attraction.

Life-like "Audio-Animatronics"® figures of all the United States' chief executives appear together onstage in "The Hall of Presidents" for a historical roll call. (Although there have been 38 Presidents, including Ford, there are only 37 individuals, since Grover Cleveland served two separate terms in office.)

Before the Liberty Square attraction opened in 1971, the nation's leaders, from Washington to Nixon, were studied in detail by Disney "Imagineers" at WED Enterprises in California. Books, photographs, diaries, television programs, and personal accounts were examined so that the craftsmen could accurately create the life-size Presidential figures.

And by the time Gerald Ford had moved into the White House, the "Imagineers" were already compiling statistics on his size, personality, and wardrobe.

"I looked through all the magazines I could immediately after Ford became President, and one or two of them actually gave me his height and weight. What they didn't give me, was his girth," recalled the WED sculptor who created the Ford bust (and the busts of most of the other Presidents) and supervised the detailing of the figure.

"I had our librarian check with the White House, and the Secretary sent his measurements. He had a 38-inch waist and weighed 204 pounds, and was trying to lose weight. So we proportioned the figure based on that."

"President Ford has a face you cannot describe or caricature very easily," said the sculptor, but he added that Ford's eyes are unusual. "His eyes are a little closer together than average, and he has a rather piercing stare. He looks with intensity, yet his eyes are warm."

President Ford's nose is somewhat wide and roundish. This trait, combined with the fact that the distance from his eyes to the bottom of his nose is shorter than average, makes the area above his upper lip seem larger than usual, the Disney artist noted.

A mold was made from the original Ford bust which the sculptor created so that additional busts could be cast. Since the "Audio-Animatronics"® figures move and speak, the "skin" of the President was cast of a rubber-like material.

The wigmaker used another specially designed bust to fashion the hair for Disney's Ford. Placing each strand by hand, she styled the wig to match the President's blonde hair. Barely noticeable because of their natural lightness, Ford's eyebrows also were duplicated with hairpieces.

But facial expression and characteristics were not all that the "Imagineers" had to consider. As with every other Presidential figure, the wardrobe experts spent hours comparing White House, news, and magazine photographs to see if there was any continuity in the way the President dressed.

"He is very up-to-date — not mod. He wears a good, sensible businessman's suit," the costumers concluded.

"Ford seems to prefer lighter colors, especially blue. And he wears more plaid or striped suits and colored, button-down-collar shirts than we have seen for awhile on a President."

The costume designers agreed that President Ford is a "pretty-down-to-earth sort of dresser," so they chose a medium-blue plaid fabric with tiny white and rust stripes for his wool suit.

The Disney tailor then made a pattern for the size-42 outfit, and sewed a handsome suit that the President, himself, would probably love to wear.

Choosing a tie for President Ford meant more research. "He seems to especially like bold, diagonal-striped or geometric-patterned ties," said one costume designer, "so we decided to use one like the striped tie he wore when he was inaugurated."

In less than four months, the Disney team "built" a President who now stands in a grouping of modern-era Presidents among the 37 historic leaders of our country in Walt Disney World's "The Hall of Presidents."

From the Spring 1975 edition of Vacationland magazine, published by Walt Disney World.

Mission to Mars From 1975 Disneyland Vacationland

Click Here to Read: The Voice in Mission to the Moon and Mission to Mars From 1988 Disneyland Line

Click Here to Read: Tomorrowland: Mars And Beyond from the original 1957 press materials

Past the Moon and onto the Mysterious Red Planet

04.05.11 - In a constant effort to keep pace with time and progress, Disney Imagineers replaced Tomorrowland's Flight to the Moon attraction with an exciting rocket trip to and around the mysterious red planet.

Flugelsnoots, Gaffelnarks and The Zarkum Weed have come to Disneyland. These characters make up the Mad Mars Myths a part of the Park's new attraction, Mission to Mars, presented by the McDonnell Douglas Corporation.

In a constant effort to keep pace with time and progress, Disney Imagineers have replaced Tomorrowland's Flight to the Moon attraction with an exciting rocket trip to and around the mysterious red planet. Photographs taken by the United States' Mariner Nine Program were used to develop the attraction.

Guests first enter the pre-flight Mission Control Center where activities on the ground and out in space are being monitored. Among the film highlights viewed are scenes from America's Skylab missions from the early 1970's. Films and narration point out how these continuing Skylab missions help man improve the environment here on earth. Disney artists and technicians have made every effort, in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to make the new "Mission to Mars" adventure as authentic as possible.

After guests are escorted into the main cabin where their flight takes place, the cabin doors close and lights dim slowly as the voice of Third Officer Collins comes over the Spaceliner's public address system. "We are in final countdown and you can watch our lift-off on the lower screen in your cabin. I'll speak to you again after we're in space." Guests' eyes then turn to the upper and lower screens and two side screens in the round flight cabin. (Side screens have been enlarged from the original Flight to the Moon attraction, giving even more realism to some fascinating actual films of space flight and Disney-created sequences.)

This adventure encompasses many new and unique simulations, including a hyperspace-warp when passengers seem to be hurled through space in an anti-universe that is separate but parallel to our own. Guests are suddenly engulfed in sound and wild sights as the ship's deck and seats tilt while kaleidoscopic images stream across all of the cabin's screens. Sub-audible waves create a weird and disoriented out of this world feeling. After hyper-space-warp, the ship journeys close to Mars, and small, unmanned rockets equipped with cameras are launched, sending back television pictures of the planet's surface.

Guests get an exciting close-up view of the gigantic rift in Mars' surface called Mariner Valley, which is over three thousand miles long and ten times wider than the Grand Canyon. The camera drone also sends back pictures of the high point on Mars, Olympus Mons, the biggest volcano now known in the whole universe. It is 370 miles wide at the base and over 75,000 feet high at the top, which is two and a half times taller than Mount Everest, the highest point on earth. The photos from the drone viewed by guests were simulated in cooperation with Cal Tech's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) and NASA, utilizing photos from the Mariner Nine program and specially created Mars' models.

During the flight, Officer Collins talks about life on Mars and points out that even today we have not found life on the planet but that for centuries there has been speculation about it. Disneyland space travelers are then treated to the Mad Mars Myths, a cartoon about fantastic concepts of life on Mars, produced by the Walt Disney Productions In-Flight Distribution Division! Side screens come alive with the antics of Flugelsnoots, whose principal occupation is making music which they constantly play through their noses. The Plains of Elysium on Mars are inhabited by the Gaffelnark which is quite intelligent but shy. The Zarkum Weed is shown as it grows very tall in the weak gravity of Mars, but it is kept in check by the Tharsis Bugs with their extremely voracious appetites.

At one point in the flight, guests have a slightly uneasy moment when the camera rocket is knocked out by a shower of meteoritic particles, and Officer Collins says, with a nervous laugh, "Everything's all right now, but that was a close call! Actually, the chances are a million-to-one against meeting another emergency like that, so please fly with us again. We are immediately returning to earth."

The ship's rocket engines roar again as the guests speed back to earth. Flames fill the lower screen and there is a distinct sound of a touching down.

From Disneyland Vacationland, Summer, 1975

Click Here to Read: The Voice in Mission to the Moon and Mission to Mars From 1988 Disneyland Line

Click Here to Read: Tomorrowland: Mars And Beyond from the original 1957 press materials